Maine Lobstermen's Association Updates | September 2025

It’s Membership Renewal Time!

The end of summer means that it’s time for many to renew their MLA membership! Lobstermen and businesses with expiring memberships will be receiving an email with an easy link to renew online. All renewals will be done through the MLA website. Once you fill out the renewal form, you can pay online with a credit card or mail your check to the office. Members may also opt-in to receive text message updates.

If you have questions about your membership or need assistance with renewal, we’re here to help.

Call us at 207-967-4555 or email shannon@mainelobstermen.org.

Put the Power of V-notching on Display!

This 8.5x14 poster is available for free by request at www.vnotch.info

Five minutes is all it takes

The MLA wants to hear from you and what you think about how to make Maine’s lobster industry stronger. We’ve put together a variety of ideas offered by lobstermen, commonsense ways to improve the quality of lobsters caught in Maine and keep the lobster stock healthy. The online survey is one way to gauge whether there is enough interest from lobstermen to warrant further discussion on any of the topics.

The survey takes only 5 minutes and all responses are confidential. If you haven’t yet completed the survey, click this link to fill it out www.surveymonkey.com/r/8QHD3J6. If you’d rather have a paper copy, call Shannon at the MLA office 207-967-4555 and she will mail you a survey.

MLA at the Maine Lobster Festival

The MLA once again took part in this year’s Maine Lobster Festival. MLA Board member Gerry Cushman hosted the Lobster Delegate candidates aboard his boat to teach them about the lobster fishery and its sustainability practices. Board member Bob Baines attended the International Great Crate Race and spoke to the local news stations about the challenges facing Maine’s lobster fishery. And MLA sold lots of our famous “Because No One Comes to Maine to Eat Chicken” T-shirts to festival attendees!

Coast Guard Delays buoy Removal Proposal

The U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) plan to remove hundreds of buoys and navigational aids in New England received nearly 3,000 comments during the public comment period, the majority in opposition to the proposal. As a result, the USCG plans to delay the plan in order to further review the first round of comments, assess feedback, and possibly make changes to the current proposal. It will issue a revised proposal this fall with an eight-week comment period. Based on these comments, USGC will then issue an Advance Notice of Intended Changes with another eight-week comment period. The USCG plans to carry out its Coastal Buoy Modernization Initiative in 2026.

The MLA submitted detailed comments outlining concerns raised by members and is grateful to Senator King and Senator Susan Collins for joining with other New England Senators in asking the Coast Guard to delay their plan.

Trump Administration Eliminates Offshore Wind Areas and Leasing Schedules

The Trump administration has rescinded all wind energy areas in federal waters, including two million acres in the Gulf of Maine. The wind energy areas were developed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) as areas that could be leased by energy developers. As a result, BOEM must start from scratch to create identified areas if offshore wind is to be developed in the future. In a separate action, BOEM announced that it has also rescinded its renewable energy lease schedule; it is no longer required to regularly publish a five-year schedule of anticipated offshore leases.

Maine’s offshore wind research array is on long-term hold due to market uncertainties. However, the state will move forward with surveys of the Maine Research Array Wind Energy Area from October through December 2025. The state is partnering with the University of Maine, Bigelow Laboratory, and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to conduct surveys which may include active acoustic surveys, plankton and larval lobster surveys, deployment of a passive acoustic receiver, deployment of acoustic telemetry receivers, and tagging of highly migratory species.

Whale Updates

NMFS reports that as of July 31, there have been no new right whale entanglements reported in 2025. However, four previously entangled right whales have been sighted this year. Two of these whales, RW #3301 and RW #4120, were sighted free of gear. RW 5110 was resighted in Cape Cod Bay. RW 5132 was resighted three times off Long Island, the St. Lawrence Estuary and near P.E.I. Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans has determined this whale is entangled in gear from LFA 38 (Bay of Fundy).

The Department of Marine Resources is conducting extensive aerial and vessel right whale surveys in the waters off the coast of Maine. There was a large aggregation of whales identified off Jeffreys Basin in mid-January and early February. Since then, only one right whale sighted in July. The whale was seen in waters far offshore of Downeast Maine.

Lobster and Other Seafood Exempt from EU Tariffs

On August 5, the Trump Administration announced a tariff deal with the European Union (EU). Under the agreement, the EU has agreed to eliminate tariffs on a variety of U.S. industrial goods and to provide preferential market access for a wide range of U.S. seafood and agricultural goods. As part of this agreement, the EU will immediately reinstate a 2020 tariff agreement, which had expired July 31, to exempt lobster and expand it to include processed lobster. Lobster continues to be exempt from tariffs in Canda because lobster falls under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a 2020 trade agreement that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

While lobster has been spared in the tariff wars, tariffs are impacting the bait market. On August 1, a number of top seafood exporting countries tariff rates increased from 10% to 15%, including Norway and Iceland, as well as Ecuador, New Zealand, Turkey, Venezuela and Costa Rica.

Bait Updates – Menhaden and Herring

Menhaden

Maine closed the state allocated menhaden fishery, effective August 25, when the state quota was projected to be fully reached. Maine’s menhaden quota for FY2025 is 24,510,314 pounds. During this closure, commercial menhaden harvesters using pound nets or fish weirs will be reduced to an incidental take of 1,050 pounds per harvester vessel per day when targeting species under their Commercial Pelagic and Anadromous License. Non-commercial menhaden license holders may continue to harvest 1,050 pounds per harvester and per vessel each day, and recreational fishermen may take up to 25 fish per day for personal use.

Following the closure, DMR requested approval to participate in the Episodic Event Set Aside (EESA) fishery program. The EESA quota is set at 5,148,896 pounds; fishermen will be notified of EESA opening date. During the EESA, Maine vessels may harvest on Mondays and Thursdays with a weekly vessel limit of 14,000 pounds or 40 barrels.

Herring

The Area 1A Atlantic herring fishery went to zero landing days on August 5 when the fishery was projected to have harvested 92% of the Season 1 quota (June 1 through September 30). It is anticipated that NOAA will increase the Season 1 herring quotas from 504 metric tons (mt) to 862 mt, and the Season 2 Quota (October 1 through December 31) from 188 mt to 322 mt. Lower quotas remain in place until NOAA implements the increased quota.

The ASMFC announced that the Eastern Maine Spawning Closure is in effect from August 28 through October 8, which are the default closure dates when no herring samples are taken.

Outer Cape Cod lawsuit over V-notch Definition

On June 17, the Outer Cape Lobstermen’s Association (OCLA) filed a Memorandum of Law in the District Court of Massachusetts seeking to stop implementation of the 1/8” V-notch definition for 34 lobstermen who fish in state waters around Outer Cape Cod.

The OCLA court filing alleges that the state of Massachusetts reneged on a 25-year-old settlement with Outer Cape lobstermen which allowed a minimum gauge to 3-15/16” in exchange for not having to V-Notch egged females and being permitted to land V-notched lobster with a 1/4” notch with or without setal hairs.

This dispute stems from OCLA’s concerns over changes to ASMFC Addendum 27 to the lobster management plan, which proposed gauge size and vent size changes as well as standardizing management measures, such as V-notch definition, among areas. ASMFC ultimately repealed Addendum 27’s gauge and vent changes but kept measures to standardize the V-notch definition and limits on the issuance of trap tags.

The OCLA opposed repealing some portions of Addendum 27 while maintaining others. According to Brendan Adams, president of OCLA, Outer Cape Lobstermen fishing in state waters “will suffer a 25% reduction in their catch … likely putting many out of business.” The OCLA is seeking a preliminary injunction to halt what it calls is an “illegal and devastating regulation.”

ASMFC Lobster Board Meeting Summary

The ASMFC American Lobster Board met on August 5 to hear presentations about on-demand gear research, updates from Maine and New Hampshire on recent meetings with the lobster industry; and an update on the 2025 benchmark stock assessment for lobster.

The NEFSC Gear Team continues to support research on on-demand gear which is gear without buoys and endlines. The gear, marked with digital technology rather than buoys, can be set at the end of a trawl and released by a signal for retrieval. More than 70 vessels have conducted trials of various on-demand technologies, completing over 14,500 hauls since 2020 with an average success rate of 89%. Research will include tests of new and developing systems and digital gear marking sharing technologies.

NOAA Fisheries presented updates on the New England/Mid-Atlantic Councils’ Joint Alternative Gear Marking Framework Adjustment, which considers where and when to allow alternative gear marking for fixed gear without a persistent buoy line. Final action by the Councils is planned for September and October.

ASMFC’s Lobster Advisory Panel (AP) met in July to discuss this issue and raised concerns about the lack of information and engagement with the industry on the implementation of on-demand gear fisheries and, in particular, the potential for conflict with mobile gear.

The Lobster Board voted to send a letter to the two Councils and NOAA Fisheries recommending a delay in final action to allow more time to conduct outreach and gather input from the lobster industry on the process for approving alternative gear markings and application of ropeless fishing.

Maine and New Hampshire provided updates on meetings with their lobster industry. Maine’s Department of Marine Resources has held two rounds of meetings with the seven lobster Zone Councils and surveyed lobstermen and dealers to better understand perceptions of the fishery and identify potential management approaches. New Hampshire has also held several meetings with commercial industry associations and is developing a survey similar to Maine’s. Results of these surveys and meetings will be presented to the Board at its October meeting.

The Stock Assessment Subcommittee Chair reported that a peer-review workshop for the lobster benchmark stock assessment is scheduled for September 2-5 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The Board will consider the Assessment and Peer Review Reports in October.